TO HONOR
OUR
ANCES-TORIAL
FAMILY
We have
over the last
26 years
gone beyond
and above many chapters
throughout the USA by spawning
6 new chapters and still ended
last year with over 100
mem-bers.
If you wonder why, it is all due
to the involvement of our
chap-ter members. And, for those of
you who are relatively new to
our chapter, we cannot predict
the future, but WE can make it
happen! As we look forward to
Message From
Piedmont Chapter
President Al Finley
Edition CXLIX ( 149thIssue ) www.PiedmontChapter.org June 2020
The Piedmont Piper
Zoom Meetings Meeting Highlights New Member Bios
Flag Retirement Ceremony Disease in the Revolution Poster Contest Winner Brochure Contest Winner The Great Garrison Flag Announcements
In This Issue
Continued on page 2
Make Room for ZOOM
adapting to the “New Normal”
In light of the out break of COVID-19 , and the
restrictions of public meetings, along with the
concerns of public health, Piedmont adapted
and innovated the way our monthly meetings
are conducted. In fact the Piedmont chapter
has led the way with the online meeting. Compatriot
Rick Reese, Jr,
our
“
Zoom Czar
” has developed the online meeting via ZOOM, the online cloud
based virtual meetings service. Rick facilities the meetings, complete with
virtual presentations of our power point, speaker notes , visual aids, and
vid-eos. We have conducted 3 chapter meetings since our March meeting was
cancelled due to the Corona Virus via the popular online meeting room. In
fact as an interesting side note in the United States since March 18
Zoom’s daily users spiked to 200 million in March, up from 10 million in
December. In addition to the chapter meetings, we have held our Board
of Managers meetings, and even live streamed our recent Flag
Retire-ment Ceremony via Zoom as well,
with new webcam purchased by the
Piedmont Fellow Fund.
The new virtual
meetings have not
only provided a
safe environment
to conduct our
meetings , it has
also been an
oppor-tunity for many of
our members who
live out of state the
ability to join and
participate in our
meetings as well.
In addition to our members from afar, we also have been fortunate to
have our State President, former State Presidents, and many other
guests now regularly attend our meetings.
The experiment has been so successful that once the ‘all clear’ is given
we will be incorporating the ZOOM meeting into our in person
gather-ings. This will provide our out of state membership, and any others that
may otherwise be unable to attend the ability to interact with the
mem-bership, both online and in person.
Page 2
The Piedmont Piper
2020, the Piedmont Chapters needs your involvement
HOW? Have heard some of you tell me that when they retire, they will get involved. But since I have been
working for myself for 35 years, that thinking needs to be reviewed. We all are given 24 hours in each day, so
please consider some of these ways to help your chapter.
O
ur color guard needs more of you to get involved (there are both chapter and state stipends for uniforms or clothing).W
e have a speaker’s bureau that needs additional voices to help educate organizations and schools aboutour American History.
E
xtending our reach into the Eagle Scout programs to honor our upcoming leaders.H
onoring our military personnel thru our JROTC as well those Vets who have served. We are starting a new outreach thru the National Society to help disabled or PTSD veterans search their ancestral background to give them a new purposeH
elping locate and mark our ancestor’s graves, as well as other patriots who served but have gone withoutrecognition
W
e all can remember a Teacher who made learning wonderful, so you can join our commitment to the educa-tion of our younger generaeduca-tion by assisting in our educaeduca-tional outreachA
ssist in our “traveling trunk” programP
oster contests for 4th gradersB
rochure contests for 8th gradersK
night essay for High School studentsNOTE:
winners of these that we hold locally by Piedmont then go onto state and then
national with monetary awards being presented at each level.
NOTE:
we are trying to make American History come alive in an environment where it is
really lacking.
During these unprecedented times, we all have time to reevaluate our priorities and help the Piedmont
Chap-ter make its commitment to expanding it reach into new areas and schools and the breath of our involvement
to our existing program.
As Americans, we have fought many wars, and this is another war that will tell our children and grandchildren
how we stood and fought. I have told my children that I want my grandchildren to remember our family
stance, not the virus, when they are our age and are telling their grandchildren.
God bless America and each of you,
Thanks Al
The Piedmont Piper
Page 3
Z O O M H I N T
How to Change Your Zoom Background
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Well, experience with the COVID-19 virus certainly has given
all of us reason to rethink what normal is, and how can we get on with our lives under these trying times while
remaining safe and respectful of the safety of those around us at the same time.
In the Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution where we have been accustomed to monthly in-
per-son chapter meetings and interaction with the schools and community groups in our areas all that suddenly
halted in March because of the virus issues. Parades and grave marking ceremonies which usually would have
occurred were now cancelled. Is this going to be our new normal?
Since holding monthly meetings with our members is a major part of how we as a Chapter communicate and
enjoy the camaraderie of getting together with our members, we felt it necessary to find a way to hold our
meetings safely, and in a meaningful way.
The solution was to hold “virtual” meetings using
ZOOM
. After exploring a variety of software available to hold
online meetings, it seemed that Zoom was the most user
friendly software platform to accomplish our “virtual” online
meetings needs.
We did reasonably well with our first virtual Piedmont Chapter
meeting in April, and I learned a lot through that experience.
Our chapter member and GASSAR Metro Regional VP
Ron
Redner
encouraged me to work with the other chapters in the
Metro region (Atlanta, Button Gwinnett, Robert Forsyth, and
Mount Vernon) to hold a series of Zoom meetings with
chap-ter Presidents or a representative of their chapchap-ter to acquaint
them with the use of Zoom. That worked well. After that I
hosted a Zoom meeting for the membership of Mount Vernon
and Atlanta to get them started.
GASSAR President
Bill Dobbs
was a participant in our
Pied-mont Zoom meetings, as well as the Mount Vernon meetings.
He felt that the Zoom platform would be applicable for the
GASSAR Spring Board of Managers meeting on May 30, 2020,
so we planned for that event. The GASSAR Spring BOM
meet-ing worked well with a total of
100 participants
online line for
the event.
Can’t we all just get together?
-
A message from our “ZOOM CZAR”
R i c k R e e s e , J r .Before joining a meeting: •Open the app and sign in.
•Click your profile picture, then click on Settings.
•In the left menu bar, click on the Virtual Background tab
•In the Virtual Background tab, select one of Zoom's defaults or upload your own image.
•If you have a green screen set-up, you can select that option.
Page 4
The Piedmont Piper
Piedmont Chapter Meeting Highlights
S a t u r d a y A p r i l 1 8 , 2 0 2 0
The Regular Chapter Meeting of the Piedmont Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution was held via Zoom (due to the COVID-19 crisis) at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 18, 2020.
This was the Chapter’s first foray into
Zoom technology and the meeting was attended by 36 participants.
President Allen Finley called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. The Invocation was led by Chaplain Steve Morrison. Sgt-at-Arms Rick Reese, Jr.
led the Chapter members in their Pledge of Allegiance and the SAR pledge.
Meeting Purpose & Recognition of Guests: President Finley noted that the Zoom technology being used to conduct the present meeting would probably be used for future meetings (so long as CDC guidelines preclude large in-person gather-ings) and that the Chapter would also be examining the possibility of live streaming future meetings for those members unable to attend. He then introduced several guests who were attending, including GASSAR President Bill Dobbs, who noted that the State B.O.M. meeting scheduled for May 30th would probably be online as well.
Membership Report: Registrar Jaime Ruff presented the Membership report, noting that Chapter membership presently stands at 105, including two new members who will be inducted in the future. He also reported that the Chapter has one application in process at National and four at the State level, as well as four supplementals in process.
Color Guard Report: Color Guard Commander Rick Reese, Jr. noted that, unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pan-demic, all of the Color Guard activities scheduled for the near term have been suspended.
Veterans Report: Chairman Joe Zimmerman reported that all visits to the Decatur V.A.
Hospital have been suspended due to the pandemic, but reminded members to continue to collect items for future distribution.
Historical Video: The Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge: President Al Finley introduced
the video presentation, noting that the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge occurred early
in the Revolutionary War, on February 27, 1776, just north of what is now present day Fayetteville, NC. The Patriot forces, numbering about 1,050 men and comprised mostly of Scottish immigrants, removed planks from the bridge and greased the re-maining girders. When the Loyalist forces, numbering approximately 3,500 men de-manded that the Patriots surrender, they refused, held their ground and broke the Loyalist charge against them. The Patriots then replaced the planks on the bridge, pursued the Loyalists and captured 850 of them. Surprisingly, only one Patriot soldier was killed and one wounded. This destroyed the incentive of the North Carolina Loy-alists to fight any additional battles in the state. After the presentation, President
Finley, joined by George Thurmond and Bob Sapp, led a discussion of the historical significance of the battle.
The Piedmont Piper
Page 5
The Regular Chapter Meeting of the Pied-mont Chapter, Sons of the American Revo-lution was held via Zoom (due to the COVID -19 crisis) at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 16,
2020. This was the Chapter’s second
meet-ing usmeet-ing Zoom technology and the meetmeet-ing was attended by 33 participants.
President Allen Finley called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.
The Invocation was led by Chaplain Steve Morrison.
Sgt-at-Arms Rick Reese, Jr. led the Chapter members in their Pledge of Allegiance and in the SAR pledge.
Meeting Purpose & Recognition of Guests: President Finley noted that the Zoom technology being used to conduct the present
meet-ing would probably be used in future meetmeet-ings (even upon the Chapter’s eventual return to a physical meetmeet-ing place) to allow for live streaming of those meetings for members unable to attend. He then introduced several guests who were attending, including GASSAR President Bill Dobbs, as well as GASSAR secretary, John Flikeid.
Introduction of Guest Speaker: Vice President Joe Zimmerman introduced the guest speaker, Piedmont Compatriot Gerald (“Jerry”) Breed, whose patriot ancestor, Joseph Breed, served in the South Carolina militia. Jerry gave a very informative presentation about the Battle of Alamance, NC, which occurred on May 16, 1771. At this battle, Royal
Gover-nor Tryon’s forces defeated the Regulators, an organization of farmers and frontiersmen, at
Alamance, which is located nine miles south of Burlington, NC. This defeat, which was a precursor to the outbreak of the Revolution, helped to dampen support for the Tories in the Carolinas. Governor Tryon was ultimately sent to New York as its royal governor by the Crown.
Speaker Appreciation: Vice President Zimmerman thanked Jerry and announced that he will receive a Certificate of Appreciation and a $2 bill.
President’s Challenge for Piedmont Chapter Members: President Al Finley then reviewed the Chapter’s present status and challenged
the members to not only continue their present award winning support of local activities and groups, but to become involved at the Na-tional and State levels, including, when possible, supporting the George Washington Fellows Fund and the NaNa-tional SAR Library Fund. President Finley noted that expanding technology will help the members (which now number over 100) to expand their outreach pro-grams at both the State and National levels, as well as to continue their participation in local activities, such as Scouting, Education, the Color Guard and Travelling Trunk program, as well as support of local Veterans programs.
Membership Report: President Finley, filling in for Jaime Ruff, noted that Chapter membership presently stands at 106 members.
Veterans Report: Chairman Joe Zimmerman reported that Operation Ancestor Search, which originated at the National level, is being expanded at the local level to assist veterans, their family members and caregivers in performing genealogical research. Joe also noted that the Chapter has, thus far, donated $2,500 for distribution of meals to V.A. staffers at their Duluth, GA facility during the covid-19 crisis and that more meal distributions are scheduled for May.
New Business: President Finley invited Dr. Ed Rigel of the Georgia Society to speak about the upcoming 2022 National conference in Savannah. Dr. Rigel noted that, in 2021, the Georgia Society attains its 100th birthday and reminded the members of opportunities to purchase commemorative medals, pins, etc. through the Georgia Society website.
Piedmont Chapter Meeting Highlights
S a t u r d a y M a y 1 6 , 2 0 2 0
Page 6
The Piedmont Piper
The Regular Chapter Meeting of the Piedmont Chapter, Sons of the Ameri-can Revolution was held via Zoom (due to the COVID-19 crisis) at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 20, 2020.
President Allen Finley called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. The Invocation was led by Chaplain Steve Morrison.
Sgt-at-Arms Rick Reese, Jr. led the Chapter members in their Pledge of Allegiance and in the SAR pledge.
SPEAKER PRESENTATION: Our speaker this month was Compatriot Mark Anthony who gave a very interesting presentation
on Colonial America and Flag history. The story of the American Revolution as told by it’s flags. Compatriot Anthony gave
an engaging and enlighten-ing program focusing on the variety of revo-lutionary flags and the evolu-tion of the American flag. Anthony began with story of the earliest “Union” flag,
and how it was a composite of England (Cross of St George c1277), Scotland (Cross of St. Andrew c800), and Ireland (Cross of St. Patrick c1601), and how
they to create the “Union” early militia and battle flags, to the birth and evolution of the American Flag.
We also conducted our first “Zoom” induction ceremony. We were proud to induct and welcome Nikolas Cole, Al Benton,
Dan Campbell, Ron Windsor, and Glen Kirk to the Piedmont Chapter .
We learned important takeaways after holding a number of these Zoom online meetings:
1. First, by opening the login process a half an hour prior to the start of each meeting we have most all participants online before the actual start of the meeting.
2. Second, and perhaps even more important, an early login allows the online members and guests to have an
opportu-nity to all “see” each other and talk together before the meeting actually begins.
3. Recording these meetings and other events such as the Flag Retirement Ceremony allows participants to relive the experience, AND those who were unable to attend to enjoy the entire meeting experience at their leisure.
Piedmont Chapter Meeting Highlights
The Piedmont Piper
Page 7
The Robert Forsyth and Piedmont Chapters held their annual Flag Retirement Ceremony on June 27, 2020 at the Ingram Funeral Home in Cumming, GA. This was 6th cere-mony since the flag retirement program began. Worn and unserviceable flags have been collected by both
Chap-ters throughout the year from 5 Flag retirement receptacles placed at Home Depot locations in Cumming, Dawsonville, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, and Roswell. These flags will be properly and
respectfully re-tired during this annual cere-mony. This year we collected and respectfully dis-posed of over
2100 flags.
This event was conducted with social distancing, but since many members may have not been able to attend in person, we able to live stream the ceremony via Zoom. Compatriot Rick Reese, Jr. manned the controls so guests could enjoy the event remotely.
Flag Retirement Ceremony
S a t u r d a y J u n e , 2 7 , 2 0 2 0
HISTORY OF THE FLAG RECYCLING PROGRAM
In 2013, Allen Greenly (President of the Robert Forsyth Chapter in GA) and John Flikeid developed a project for the construction of a Flag Receptacle to be placed in partnering Home Depot store locations. Home Depot custom-ers would be able to deposit their worn and unserviceable flags in the Flag Receptacle. Those flags would be collected by members of the sponsoring SAR chapter, and properly disposed of in an annual Flag Retirement Cere-mony at a local funeral home and crematory to be held on a weekend close to Flag Day. The sponsorship of these Flag Receptacles was also shared by local DAR, C.A.R. societies, and local Boy Scout Troops. The initial Flag Re-ceptacle was sponsored by the Robert Forsyth Chapter, SAR, the Martha Stewart Bulloch Chapter, DAR and Boy Scout Troop 1099. This flag recepta-cle was placed in the Cumming Home Depot on Flag Day 2013. The first year, the Robert Forsyth Chapter collected ap-proximately 500 flags from this receptacle. Based on the success of this first receptacle, the Robert Forsyth Chapter in-stalled a second Flag Receptacle in the Dawsonville Home Depot. This receptacle was also sponsored by the Martha Stewart Bulloch Chapter, DAR and the local Dawsonville Boy Scouts.
Page 8
The Piedmont Piper
Ron Windsor was Born in 1948 in Douglas, GA, Graduated from UGA 1969.
Married Meg Greenway in Atlanta and has 2 children, and 4 grandchildren. Ron enjoyed a career in real estate, initially finance/lending then developed numerous shopping cen-ters throughout the southeast US
Ron is currently retired and enjoys golf, and fishing. Compatriot Windsor is a member of Alpharetta Methodist.
Meet our New Members
RON WINDSOR -
Patriot Ancestor is
Arthur Davis
, soldier, SC militia
AL Benton -
Patriot Ancestor is
Abner Seeley,
Captain, VT, “Green Mountain Boys”
DAN CAMPBELL -
Patriot Ancestor is
Daniel Evans
, Ensign, PA Militia
Please welcome these newly inducted members of our chapter. The Corona Virus prevents us
from meeting in person, we still encourage the membership to reach out and welcome our
new members, thru email, and or phone until we can meet again in person.
Al Benton was born in Monticello, NY. He graduated from Syracuse Univer-sity with a BS degree. He attended courses and seminars on a continuing basis, sponsored by the Appraisal institute Counselors of Real Estate, and the Institute of Professional in Taxation.
Licenses and Certifications:
Licensed Real Estate Broker State of GA (1978-present) GA State Certified General Real Property Appraiser.
Professional Experience: The Counselors of Real Estate
Member (CRE) certificate No. 886
Present and Past Member of numerous national Committees, Vice-President—1996, Board of Directors, Vice-Chairman of the Board (2005), Chairman of the Board (2006).
Dan Campbell is a Senior Advisor with ACA Compliance Group and provides compliance consulting services to investment advisers, including hedge fund, private equity, real es-tate, and other registered advisers. Prior to joining ACA in 2011, Dan served as an
Assis-tant Regional Director at the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office, and previously earned his
BBA from James Madison University and his MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta
Busi-ness School. Dan currently lives in Roswell with his wife Carey and two teenage sons, Wyatt and Beckett.
The Piedmont Piper
Page 9
Meet our New Members
GLEN KIRK -
Patriot Ancestor is
William Edmondson
, Sgt., VA and NC militia
.NIKOLAS COLE -
Patriot Ancestor is
George Fry
, Captain, PA Militia and also continental line.
Glenn F. Kirk, Jr, born in Atlanta on 24 Jan 1931, the only child of Glenn F. Kirk and Frantie Mae Morris. He attended elementary schools in East Point, New Or-leans and Atlanta. Graduated from Brown Junior High, attended Tech High School and graduated from Brown High. Graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Attended the NYU Graduate School of Business.
Worked for Western Electric for 41 years as an engineer, supervisor and manager, retiring in 1995 as Installation Staff Manager.
Married Alberta Mass in 1960, had five children, four daughters and a son, and eight grandchildren. My wife died in 2012. My oldest daughter lives with me in the house in Roswell that I bought in 1966. Worked on a seasonal basis for H & R Block for eleven years preparing tax returns.
Raised as a Baptist, changed to Presbyterian in 1968, and have been a member of the Roswell Presbyterian Church for 52 years, serving variously as Sunday School teacher, deacon and elder. Enjoy golf, but knees have kept me away from
it, lately. Have been pursuing my family’s genealogy for several years, primarily on-line with ancestry.com and
familysearch.com.
Nikolas Cole
was born in Atlanta Georgia. I graduated from Rivers Academy.
My accomplishments are Grand Champion Angler is Islamorada, Florida.
Trained bird dogs and achieved Master Hunter certification in AKC trials. I
work for PHTC managing a clinic.
Page 10
The Piedmont Piper
Piedmont Makes Donation to the Atlanta VA Hospital
We express our appreciation to Piedmont
Veterans Committee Chairman
Joe
Zim-merman
, and our Vice President, for
orga-nizing and implementing this project for
our chapter to recognize and reward the
heroic dedication of the health care staff at
the VA Hospital during this pandemic.
The Piedmont Chapter members of the
Sons of the American Revolution are
grate-ful to the doctors, nurses, medical
person-nel, and hospital staff putting themselves
on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis in
the Atlanta Veteran’s Hospital. While the
members of our SAR chapter are doing our part by staying home, these health care workers are heading to
the hospital every day, fighting around the clock to save lives.
The Piedmont Chapter salutes them for the incredible sacrifice they are making. Our members joined in
uni-son to help thank those who are helping so many! In appreciation of these efforts our chapter donated
$2500.00 to support the creation of a box lunch meal for these workers. In coordination with City Barbecue, a
locally owned restaurant group, our chapter provided assorted barbecue sandwiches and two homemade
sides to the medical staff of the Covid- 19 units within the hospital. We provided donated 500 meals to the
hospital health care staff during the month of May.
Below is a “Thank You” letter from Anthony Cooper, Chief of Voluntary Services for the VA Health Care
Sys-tem in Decatur
.
Dear Supporter:
I wish to extend my personal thanks to Piedmont Chapter of Sons of the American Revolution on behalf of the At-lanta VA Health Care System (AVAHCS) patients and staff for your recent donation of 500 City Barbeque meal for hospital workers in response to COVID-19 pandemic. Your generous donation is a tremendous help as we adapt to these unprecedented circumstances. It is through the ef-forts of community partners like Piedmont Chapter of Sons of the American Revolution that allow us to con-tinue the quality care and services that we seek to pro-vide our deserving Veterans. We look forward to the op-portunity to work with you again for future events. Thank you for your continued support.
The Piedmont Piper
Page 11
Piedmont Speakers Bureau
Just before the Stay at Home Order went into
ef-fect, Piedmont Member, Rick Reese, Jr., was invited
to speak at the Mount Vernon Chapter monthly
meeting.
Rick’s topic that evening was his patriot’s cabin,
which was recently relocated and restored to it’s
original condition.
The Brockett Cabin Restoration
Rick Reese, Jr.
One evening two years later I received a phone call…“You don’t know me, but I want to talk with
you about your 4thGreat Grandfather, William Brockett”. That was Jeff Page. He had seen the
Piper article and tracked me down. He told me of a project to find and relocate a Revolutionary War era cabin to Mount Juliet, TN. The property is owned by Beverly Elliott. The house they
se-lected was my patriot ancestor’s house, the Brockett cabin. The Brockett cabin was purchased for
that purpose.
William Ebenezer Brockett was born on 26 June 1748 in Wallingford, CT. Later he married Mar-tha Ives in New Bern, NC. He was a Revolutionary War Line Captain serving 7 years in the battles of Rocky Mount and Hanging Rock in North Carolina, as well as the battles of Fishing Creek, and
Rugley’s Mills in South Carolina.
After the War Captain Brockett moved with his wife to Smith County, TN, built the cabin in 1786, and raised 11 children in the house. The cabin was in Smith County, TN, with the Brockett Family Cemetery located across the road in Macon County, TN I kept in touch with Jeff as the project proceeded. He emailed pictures of the disassem-bly of the cabin in Smith County, TN. He also sent me pictures of the reconstruction of the cabin in Mount Juliet. These were step by step images showing the fine work of the craftsmen participating in this effort to restore the historic cabin to its former stature
with great attention to detail while using the construction tech-niques appropriate for the time period of
the late 1780’s.
When the project was completed and cabin decorated with arti-facts and replicas typical of the time period, Jeff invited my family and me to attend a celebration of the restored cabin in the form of a
“Thanksgiving” type
meal prepared in the
cabin’s cooking fireplace. Everyone there had a great time, and
en-joyed examining the authentic detail of the restored cabin. Since I was there in my Revolutionary War uniform, I gave a talk to the
as-sembled audience about what life was like during Revolutionary War era. It was really an impromptu “Traveling Trunk” program. Mt. Vernon Chapter Vice President Jim McDonald presents Rick
Page 12
The Piedmont Piper
POSTER CONTEST
The Piedmont Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution sponsored our annual Elementary School Poster
contest The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) invites all 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade
stu-dents interested in the American Revolution to participate in the Americanism Elementary School Poster Contest.
The contest is open to public school, parochial, home schooled, Scouting, or Children of the American Revolution
member students in that same grade range. Young artists with an enthusiasm toward art, a love of American
his-tory, or a passion in creative expression can submit their posters to their local SAR chapter for competition
.The theme for the Poster Contest rotates annually based upon whether the school year ends in an even or odd
number
.
For academic years ending in even numbers, the theme shall be “Revolutionary War Events.” For
aca-demic years ending in odd numbers, the theme shall be “Revolutionary War Person or Persons.
This years’ First Place winner is 4th grader
Ayame Masuda
.
Ayame was awarded a total of $125.00 and a certificate. Ayame’s poster went on to win 1st place in the State
The Piedmont Piper
Page 13
BROCHURE CONTEST
Piedmont Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution sponsored a Middle School brochure contest in
which individual 8
thgrade students create
a tri-fold brochure out of a typical 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper with
the contest theme, which was on one the five foundational documents of the United States.
Articles of Confederation
Declaration of Independence
Constitution
Federalist Papers
Bill of Rights
Piedmont Chapter Middle School Brochure Contest Winners
Second Place
Anne Peterson
Check for $75 and a certificate
Second Place
Cade Stensrud
Check for $75 and a certificate
Third Place
Caden Bullard
Check for $50 and a certificate
Piedmont Chapter Middle School Brochure Contest Honorable Mention
John Ring
Olivia Harvard
Travis Adcock
Louden Hickman
Jackson Wagner
This year’s Chapter Winner
Stephanie Griffin
went on to win
the State Contest as well!
Con-gratulations Stephanie!
Stephanie's brochure is in the
run-ning for the National Contest,
hopefully we be able to announce
a winner at later a date, normally
the state winners are announced
at our Congress, since this years
Congress will be cancelled due to
COVID-19, that will not be the
case this year. Stay tuned!
First Place - Stephanie Griffin
Check for $150 and a certificate
Lucas Velasquez
James Smith
Kelsie Wright
Lillaana Mahike
Page 14
The Piedmont Piper
Disease in the Revolutionary War
476px-USS_Thresher_(SSN-593)_bow.jpg
I
n
the first years of the Revolutionary War, George
Wash-ington and his Continental Army faced a threat that
proved deadlier than the British: a smallpox epidemic,
last-ing from 1775-1782. Infrequent outbreaks and wariness of
inoculation made his troops very susceptible to the
dis-ease. After heavy losses in Boston and Quebec,
Washing-ton implemented the first mass immunization policy in
American history.
Smallpox in the Americas
Smallpox, caused by the
Variola major
virus, spreads only from person to person. It
can take up to fourteen days before a person exposed to the virus will show
symp-toms: fever, headaches, body pains, and eventually the telltale rash. Witnesses and
survivors of smallpox describe immense suffering. Death often comes within about
two weeks. Survivors can take up to a month to recover fully; they are left with
scars, but also lifetime immunity.
European colonization introduced smallpox to the Americas in the sixteenth
cen-tury. Over the course of a little more than three centuries, outbreaks of the disease
appeared sporadically in colonial America. In Europe, smallpox became an endemic
disease by the eighteenth century; exposure often happened in childhood, which
meant that virtually the entire adult population was immune. The American
colo-nists, however, might have gone for years without any exposure to smallpox. It is
difficult to track smallpox deaths during the Revolutionary War, but estimates
indi-cate that Washington’s army lost more troops to disease in general than in combat.
One study suggests that for every soldier who fell to the British, ten died from some
sort of disease. Washington himself was no stranger to smallpox; while traveling
in Barbados in 1751, he contracted the disease while staying with Gedney Clarke. However, Washington did not keep a
record of his illness. His case was mild, leaving him with scarring on his nose.
Colonies dealt with smallpox in two different ways: quarantine and inoculation. Each colony had its own quarantine
laws, which took different forms and were often enforced at the local level. Some colonials, particularly the wealthy,
chose to be inoculated. Inoculation involved deliberate exposure to smallpox, usually through an incision made on the
arm. This still resulted in a case of smallpox, but frequently one with milder symptoms and a greater chance of survival,
with immunity as the end goal. Many were opposed to inoculation because the practice could still lead to an outbreak if
an inoculated person was not properly quarantined while ill. Inoculation was heavily regulated, and banned outright in
some places. Combined with the procedure’s expense, this made it a rare practice in America
.
Outbreaks in War
Immunity to smallpox became an important factor during the Revolutionary War in two ways. First, the British and Conti-nental forces were disproportionately affected by the epidemic. The British troops arriving from Europe were more likely
The Piedmont Piper
Page 15
to be immune to the disease, either through inoculation or natural exposure. This was not true of Washington’s forces.
As soldiers concentrated themselves in camp, the chances of a smallpox outbreak increased. Second, the British took quickly to inoculating fresh troops because the chances of triggering an outbreak were slim. Washington, on the other hand, struggled with the question of inoculation. Doing so would not only risk an outbreak; it would also leave a por-tion of the army unfit for battle while they recovered.
It was for these reasons that Washington decided against inoculation during his army’s first encounter with smallpox:
the Siege of Boston in 1775. Civilians and soldiers who showed symptoms were kept from the rest of the army. When safe passage out of Boston was secured for some, the presence of smallpox was taken into account. There is some indi-cation that the British, going against the agreement, used the disease as a biological weapon by forcing potentially in-fected Bostonians to leave the city. When the British gave up the city in the spring of 1776, the outbreak became even
harder to control. Refugees spread smallpox throughout Massachusetts, and Boston’s outbreak continued until the end
of summer. During the same period, the Continental forces besieging Quebec also suffered great losses due to small-pox. The soldiers were already in poor health, making them more susceptible. A quarantine was put in place, but it was not enforced strongly enough. When they were forced to retreat, smallpox went with them. These losses signaled to
Washington and other revolutionary leaders that the army’s smallpox policy was not effective.
Mass Inoculation
After weeks of indecision, Washington issued the order to have all troops inoculated on February 5, 1777, in a letter to President John Hancock. The next day, a second letter was sent to Dr. William Shippen, Jr. that ordered all recruits ar-riving in Philadelphia to be inoculated:
“Finding the Small pox to be spreading much and fearing that no precaution can
prevent it from running through the whole of our Army, I have determined that the troops shall be inoculated. This Expedient may be attended with some incon-veniences and some disadvantages, but yet I trust in its consequences will have the most happy effects. Necessity not only authorizes but seems to require the measure, for should the disorder infect the Army in the natural way and rage with its usual virulence we should have more to dread from it than from the Sword of
the Enemy.”
The practice was soon implemented across the colonies. Army physicians also in-oculated veteran soldiers who had yet to be exposed. Washington needed the
process to be done in secret. He feared that the British would learn of the army’s
temporary weakness and use it to their advantage. In March 1778, the inoculation orders were altered slightly. At Valley Forge, Washington encountered thousands of troops that had managed to avoid smallpox, either through inoculation or natu-ral exposure. In need of immediate reinforcements, Washington realized that the army might not survive the delay of inoculation. Instead, he ordered that inocula-tions continue at the camp in Valley Forge. If quarantine procedures failed, there
was a risk of an outbreak. However, the soldiers awaiting inoculation could be called to the front lines if necessary.
Sources
Brenda Thacker www.mountvernon.org
Duncan, Louis C. Medical Men in the American Revolution, 1775-1783. Carlisle barracks, Pa: Medical field Service school, 1931.Fenn, Elizabeth Anne. Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82. New York: Hill and Wang, 2001.
Page 16
The Piedmont Piper
During our June Chapter Meeting, Compatriot Mark Anthony
gave a captivating presentation of the history of Colonial Flags and the story of the American Revolution as told thru our flags. As he concluded his program he mentioned an additional story of a 15 star 15 Stripe flag for another day. That flag was the Great Garrison Flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the naval portion of the Battle of Baltimore dur-ing the War of 1812 and was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key to write the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry", which would
become “The Star Spangled Banner”, our national anthem
offi-cially in 1931.
In Baltimore's preparation
for an expected attack on the city, Fort McHenry was made ready to de-fend the city's harbor. When Major George Armistead expressed the desire for a very large flag to fly over the fort, General John S. Stricker and Com-modore Joshua Barney placed an order with a prominent Baltimorean flag-maker for two oversized American Flags. The larger of the two flags would be the Great Garrison Flag, the largest battle flag ever flown at the time. The smaller of the two flags would be the Storm Flag, to be more durable and less prone to fouling in inclement weather.
Available documentation shows that this flag was sewn by local flag maker Mary Young Pickersgill under a government com-mission in 1813 at a cost of $405.90 (equivalent to $5,377 in 2020). George Armistead, the commander of Fort McHenry, specified "a flag so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance".
Imagine if that order was never placed or if Major Armistead was so bold and did not have the intention to fly the largest battle flag that had ever flown to that time. We may not have all grown up with our beloved National Anthem as we know it today.
This flag became the Official United States Flag on May 1, 1795. Two stars were added for the admission of Vermont (the 14th State on March 4th, 1791) and Kentucky (the 15th State on June 1st, 1792, and was to last for 23 years. The five Presi-dents who served under this flag were; George Washington
(1789-1797), John Adams (1797-1801), Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809), James Madison (1809-1817), and James Monroe (1817-1825).
The 15-star, 15-stripe flag was authorized by the Flag Act of January 13, 1794, adding two stripes and two stars. The regulation went into effect on May 1, 1795. This flag was the only U.S. flag to have more than 13 stripes. The flag is now preserved in the Smithsonian Museum.
The story of the Star-Spangled Banner
The Great Garrison Flag
The Piedmont Piper
Page 17
(Left) Fort McHenry located in the Baltimore Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland. (Right) A replica of the 15 Stripe and 15 Star Great Garrison Flag flying over Fort McHenry.
The Great Garrison Flag continued…
TIME LINE OF THE GREAT GARRISON FLAG
(
source : www.usflag.org)
1814:
The battle occurred, and the flag won its glory. Armistead was promoted to
Lt. Colonel by Madison. Armistead died in service on April 25, 1818. He acquired
the flag sometime before that date, but at this point it is unknown how.
1818:
Armistead died and legend says that the flag was used in his funeral.
How-ever, in all of the newspaper accounts of Armistead's funeral, there is no
men-tion of the flag being displayed at it. At his death the flag passed to his widow,
Louisa Armistead.
1824:
The flag was used in a reception for General Lafayette. Louisa Armistead
died on October 3, 1861, and in her will left the flag to her daughter, Georgiana
Armistead Appleton. The flag was sent to England for safe keeping during the Civil
War, according to one of the Armistead family members, who made this
state-ment in a newspaper interview in the 1880's. But Georgiana said, in a letter to
Admiral George Preble, that the flag was in her possession during the rebellion.
June 24, 1873:
The flag was displayed in the Charleston Naval Yards. Canvas
back-ing was sewn on the flag and one of the first photographs was taken of it.
.
1876:
The flag was loaned to the Navy Department for the Centennial Celebration.
1879:
Georgiana Armistead Appleton died in 1879 and left the flag to her son Eben Appleton.
1907:
Eben Appleton loaned the flag to the Smithsonian.
1912:
Eben Appleton converts the loan of the flag to a gift to the Smithsonian.
1914:
Amelia Fowler was commissioned to remove the canvas backing sewn on the flag when it was
photo-graphed in 1873 and replace it with a linen.
1st known photograph of the original "Star Spangled Banner." In 1873 the flag was being cele-brated at Boston Navy Yard.
Page 18
The Piedmont Piper
The Piedmont Fellow Fund
Help Support our Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution
by becoming a Piedmont Fellow
The Piedmont Fellow Fund is established for the purpose of funding, supplementing or reimbursing
wor-thy activities, events, or needs of the chapter that are not included in the annual budget.
The Fund is in
honor of General Nathanael Greene, who was instrumental in recapturing the South from the British in the
Revolutionary War, and who lived in Georgia after the war and is buried near Savannah.
Any member of the SAR, friends, relatives, spouses, or other individuals,
liv-ing or deceased, havliv-ing an interest in furtherliv-ing the goals of the Piedmont
Chapter, or that are being recognized or memorialized, may become a
mem-ber the Fund with a contribution being made in their name for the required
minimum amount. Those who are so named shall be designated a
"Piedmont Fellow" and be awarded the distinctive "Piedmont Fellow Fund"
pin which identifies them as a "Piedmont Fellow."
Wearing of the pin which identifies one as a "Piedmont Fellow" connotes
support of the ideals of the Piedmont Chapter and the National Society of
the Sons of the American Revolution and provides a tangible source of
iden-tity and pride to the wearer.
Contributions
A minimum contribution of $100 is required. Contributions will be acknowledged by a letter from the
Chap-ter President. A contributor may designate themselves or designate another person a "Piedmont Fellow,"
but just one pin will be awarded for each $100 contribution.
A recent example of an expenditure covered by the Piedmont Fellow Fund is the purchase
of a new webcam and accessories to support streaming of Chapter meetings and other
events such as the Flag Retirement Ceremony.
Are YOU interested in becoming a Piedmont Fellow?
Contact our Chapter President, Allen Finley for details.
The Piedmont Piper
Page 19
On March 15, 2021 the Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution will be celebrating 100 years since the found-ing of our Society. In recognition of this milestone the Georgia Society has commissioned the production of a Centen-nial Medal set and a CentenCenten-nial lapel pin shown below.
In addition, The Georgia Society is honored to host the 2022 Congress in Savannah, GA. The 2022 Congress com-memorative medals and pins are also available for purchase.
If you would like to order a centennial pin normally, there would be a $7.00 shipping charge added to your order, but Compatriot Paul Pres-cott has volunteered to pick up the medals and pins that we order, at no additional cost to our members.
Here is how to support our Chapter and Society while saving money at the same time.
1. Select which items you would like to purchase.
2. Send an email message to (RickReese68@att.net) indicating what you want to purchase so that I can make a list
for Paul.
3. Prepare a check for the amount of your purchase, made pay able to “Piedmont Chapter SAR”.
4. Mail your check to:
Mr. Al Finley 4303 Revere Circle Marietta, GA 30062-5771
Georgia Society Turns 100 Years Old Next Year
A Historical Digest of The Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution
Organized March 15, 1921
The Georgia Society has 33 active chapters as of November 2016: Altamaha, Athens, Atlanta, Blue Ridge Mountains, Brier Creek, Button Gwinnett, Casimir Pulaski, Cherokee, Coweta Falls, Dalton, Edward Telfair, Four Rivers Patriots, George Walton, Joel Early, John Collins, John Milledge, Joseph Habersham, LaGrange, Lyman Hall, Marquis de Lafayette, Marshes of Glynn, Mill Creek, Mount Vernon, Ocmulgee, Patrick Carr Rangers, Piedmont, Rome, Samuel Elbert, Valdosta, Washington-Wilkes, William Few, and Wire-grass.
The Georgia Society has had four Compatriots who rose to the office of President General: James R. Westlake, 1989, Col. Robert B. Vance, 1993, J. Michael Tomme, Sr. 2016, Larry T. Guzy, 2017. James R. Westlake served as Secretary General in 1988, was twice Historian General, 1986 and 1987, and Chairman of the Membership Committee for four years. Col. Robert B. Vance served as Sec-retary General in 1992, Treasurer General in 1991, and was Chairman of the Congress Planning Committee for seven years. J. Mi-chael Tomme, Sr. served as Treasurer General in 2014 and Secretary General in 2015. Larry T. Guzy served as Treasurer General in 2015 and Secretary General in 2016. Georgia Society Compatriots who have served as South Atlantic District Vice President General during the period covered by this history are: Dr. Homer E. Wright, 1983; John W. Loud, 1987; Hardwick S. Johnson, Jr., 1991; Lt. Col. Robert F. Galer, 1995; Dr. T. Fisher Craft, 1999; Larry Guzy, 2003; and Col. George Thurmond, 2007, Charlie Newcomer, 2011, Ed Rigel, Sr., 2015. Lt. Col. Robert F. Galer served as Chairman of the important Revolutionary War Graves Committee for ten years and has served on the Executive Committee three times.
In recognition of this milestone the Georgia Society has
commissioned the production of a Centennial Medal set
T h e P i e d m o n t P i p e r
Rick Reese, Jr • Publisher | Rick Reese III• Editor/Photographer
This publication is the newsletter for the Piedmont Chapter of the Georgia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. It is published six times per year, January, March, May, July, September and November. It is distributed to current and prospective members of the chapter and to certain officers of the state and national organizations and to certain officials of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The Piedmont Chapter serves communities of the northern suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia including Cobb, Cherokee and Northern Fulton County. Meetings are held monthly throughout the year on the third Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at Bill Johnson Community Activity Building Roswell Area
Park Drive, Building A Roswell Area Park 10495 Woodstock Road, Roswell, GA.Most members choose to arrive by 8:00 a.m. to enjoy
breakfast together.
Prospective members are always welcome at monthly membership meetings. Men, eighteen years of age and older, who are interested in docu-menting their relationship to their American Revolutionary ancestors and in joining an active group with similar interests are urged to contact the
Chapter Registrar, Jamie Ruff 404.428.8040 or any other chapter officer.
DEADLINE FOR MATERIAL TO BE INCLUDED IN THE NEXT EDITION:
The deadline for material for the next issue is Aug 1st 2020 In addition to the material, please include a copy of any photos to be included. Please direct all inquires or suggestions regarding the Piedmont Piper to the editor Rick Reese III rick@rickreese.com.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2020 Officers of the Piedmont Chapter
President, Al Finley, 4303 Revere Cir, Marietta, GA 30062 Phone 770.992.9395, arfinleysar@gmail.comVice President, Joe Zimmerman,3635 Aubusson Trace, Alpharetta, GA, 30022 770-714-4980, jrzimmerman3635@gmail.com Secretary, Eric E. Thorstenberg 220 Enclave Court, Roswell, GA 30076 Phone: 770.740.9321 eetesq@gmail.com
Treasurer, Joe Nichols, Jr, 8915 Ridgemont Dr., Sandy Springs, GA 30350, Phone 404-556-0364, AlpineRR@mindspring.com
Chaplain, Steve Morrison, Jr, 3535 Roswell Rd, Suite 34, Marietta, GA 30062, Phone 770-235-5846 , steve@morrisonLawFirmLLC.com Registrar, Jamie Ruff, 1205 Compass Pointe Crossing, Alpharetta, GA 30005 Phone 404.428.8040 RuffJam@gmail.com
Editor, Frederic M. Reese, III. 250 Lakeview Ridge W., Roswell, GA 30076 Phone 678.404.7886 Rick@rickreese.com Chancellor, Eric E. Thorstenberg 220 Enclave Court, Roswell, GA 30076 Phone: 770.740.9321 eetesq@gmail.com Historian/ Librarian, Bill Lusk, 1355 Summit Rd. Milton, GA 30004 Phone 770-754-4428 bill@luskco.com
Sergeant-at-Arms, Frederic M. Reese, Jr., 250 Lakeview Ridge W., Roswell, GA 30076 Phone 88447-778-9235, RickReese68@att.net Webmaster, Frederic M. Reese, III 250 Lakeview Ridge W., Roswell, GA 30076 Phone 678.404.7886 Rick@rickreese.com